*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review*

A little uneven for my taste - one minute it was dark and twisty - the next light hearted.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons & NetGalley for this book.

I really tried to get into this book, but it just wasn't for me.

I did finish reading, but it was a struggle to stay focused

It just did not hold my interest.

I found the characters, plot, and descriptions fell flat.

Sadly can not recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I love a Talented Mr. Ripley type story, and obsession is one of my favorite themes in literature. Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy this story, and found it to be lacking. The plot simply wasn't compelling enough to carry an entire book. However, I did still somewhat enjoy it, and would be interested to read more from the author in the future.

Man's Best Friend by Alana B. Lytle is a great story! It had me hooked from beginning to end. I will read more from the author in the future.

Several other readers have complained that El, the protagonist/narrator of "Man's Best Friend" is unlikable. I didn't find that to be the case. I'm not saying I'd want to be her bestie, but she's no more or less moral or ethical than many of us... at least until the denouement. The finale, and pretzel logic involved, tainted the book for me. Ditto the extremely forced canine metaphors. Which is a shame, because author Alana B. Lytle excels at depicting a specific slice of New York: that of post-college adults realizing that they're now too old to become wunderkinds, that they can no longer afford their fantasies unless they make some hard, and harsh, decisions.

Thank you, G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

In the book Man’s Best Friend we meet El who for most of her life was in aspiring actor she obsesses over everything and her main obsession is her eighth grade year at a private school where she meets Juliana and Anna. Both girls are from very Uber rich families and she considers herself a poor man’s Anna because they look so similar when out of the blue she is a invited to Giuliana‘s 30th birthday party at her Southampton home ,she despite working at a bakery and living paycheck to paycheck cannot resist the pull of the rich life and decides to go. This is where she will first meet Brice He works in finance and is also Uber Rich and despite else not being attracted to him she is attracted to the life he could give her and so decides to date him soon they’re living together it will be when he takes her to Paris where her friend Anna is now living that the mystery will begin because before they leave Paris Anna will have been murdered and although it effects L she doesn’t see Anna‘s death as the mystery it is until much later. If you notice I haven’t mentioned man’s best friend or a dog at all that’s because it was barely even a subplot and it is only a subplot in that it is mentioned in passing another words they mention someone was walking a dog or… L looks out the window and sees a dog barking at a man only in the beginning do we hear from a dog and her contemplation of leaving her master the rest is unlikable L her unlikable friends especially Emma Who especially after her big reveal I didn’t like. Usually when they have such an unlikable protagonist in the book I do not like the book either but the author has such a fresh and talented writing style I found myself not wanting to put the book down and read it all in one go. I know from a lot of reviews people didn’t like L and I myself as I said don’t like her either but they were many things she thought and choices she made but I totally understood where she was coming from. I was sad the book wasn’t about the dog but there’s lots of dog books I can go read to satisfy that itch, as far as mysteries and thrillers go this was a really good one I want to think penguin group Putnam and net Gali for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

In eighth grade, El was a scholarship kid at an elite private school in New York City where she met and was taken underwing by queen bee's Anna and Julia. That friendship was El's entrée into a life of wealth and privilege she'd never known but immediately coveted. In her ​14 year-old mind the best route to riches was to become a famous actress, a dream she pursued without success. At 30, El is a failed actress turned unfulfilled bakery employee in search of a new path. That new path enters her life as Bryce Ripley-Batten. Bryce is not El's type. He's dopey, a bit creepy, but quite wealthy. El falls in line with the life Bryce plans for them, while knowing she'll never fall in love with him.

In the prologue, readers are introduced to a dog who longs to leave her home. Though her Ohio home is comfortable and her owner is a good man, she slinks out and runs for her freedom in pursuit of something bigger, something else. This subplot about the disloyal runaway dogs obviously represents El and several other disloyal characters in the novel. That same something else compels El to ignore the signs that Bryce is not a good choice. However, El has a history of making poor choices, there's little hope that she will change. And she doesn't. El is still that starry eyed 14 year-old girl who wants to be rich. Only by 30, she's no longer guided by a quiet desire for money and friends, but a hunger and desperation she could not have imagined as a child.

I had such high hopes for this book, but the plot and subplot don't really line up for me, and the characters are shallow and unlikable. The description of the book promises a story akin to The Talented Mr. Ripley, but that falls flat. There is nothing artful nor crafty in El's approach to social climbing. Bryce enters her life and the ever lazy El rolls over and gives herself to him - body and soul. There are a few uncanny moments in the novel, like when the dog jumps in front of the train and another dog attacks El's car, but those moments aren't enough to carry the novel. In the end I felt like I was being taught a lesson, not told a story. This novel began with promise but was a miss for me.

Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons, publisher, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start off by saying this book was well-written, had a compelling plot, and overall I enjoyed it. It’s sort of in the vein of other female literary authors with semi-unlikeable protagonists (Mona Awad, Otessa Moshfegh, etc) but….

Ugh I say this with love. It tried too hard to be something it wasn’t - especially when it came to the dog references. I get that the title is “Man’s Best Friend” so she is trying to build on that idea but the recurring theme felt shoehorned in. It almost was like a whole book was written to be solely a thriller / literary fiction, but then the editor passed a note that said “we should add more dog stuff”.

A few quotes that stood out to me -

“A dog might stay loyal or she might abandon you. Either way she’d do what served her best.

She’d been prey become predator. Finding her purpose by peering beneath a “lifetime’s breeding and grooming”

And then there was an off hand comment about a news story where dogs were mysteriously running away from their owners (I got stuck on that - for a moment I thought there was going to be a whole sci fi subplot) but this is only ever referenced when the main character is comparing herself to a dog who must have run away from its master (a collar with a name is found)

All these comparisons to the protagonist being canine and working out issues with her father (?) in the form of a wolf hunt (?) - it just felt jarringly out of context. The English major literary criticism side of me almost wants to reread this slowly and write an essay on the theme with lots of supporting quotes lol

I liked the twist at the end (ugh but also, I read wayyy too many serial killer books, so the villain’s reaction to everything didn’t make sense psychologically to me based off why people kill, but it’s okay).

I’m excited to read more from this author, so I hope all my comments don’t take away from the fact that this was an enjoyable read.

This is a me issue but there’s a fine line for me between social satire/commentary a la Eat the Rich and just awful rich people. I felt more like I hated these people but not in a good way.

Unfortunately this is a soft DNF for me, I may pick this up again at some time but right now this is not something that appeals to me.

It’s a little bit of Night Bitch meets the Talented Mr. Ripley. We follow El, befriended at a young age by Julia and Ana two wealthy girls who bring El into their circle. However, they grow distant as they grow up and head their separate ways. El still longs for a connection to that world of wealth, privilege, and power as she exists as a failed actress working at a bakery feeling untethered and disconnected from the people and world around her.

I really liked the writing in this, it made these characters feel alive and real in their actions and motivations and kept me invested despite (or because of?) these unlikeable flawed characters. As El at times teeters between choices it keeps the reader guessing as to what she will ultimately choose to do. While I liked the dog segments woven throughout the story, I felt it could have been a bit more subtle at times. The way everything came together at the climax had me completely gripped and I couldn’t put it down.

If you are looking for an anti romance with an unapologetically selfish characters and sharp social criticism with thriller elements this is a really great read and you should check it out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I did not enjoy this book one little bit. Was it a mystery? A thriller? Neither. It was pointless and dumb. I do not recommend. I’m giving it a one star rating. Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I tried reading this while I was sick and unfortunately I couldn’t get into it enough to keep going. I hate not finishing books but I just didn’t find it interesting enough.

I received an advanced copy from netgalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.

I think the marketing of the book with the cover and the quips about being like other popular books will help this sell, but I feel like the book was a little hard to get into. This seems for a niche audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

I DNF'd this book at about 12%. I got to the phrase "intriguing breasts" and just couldn't continue. Up to that point all the MC had done was moan and complain about her life and slack off of work because she wanted to be rich. There was nothing that made me want to continue reading.

This book was not what I was expecting...it was MORE! Not having the resources EI needs, she is lured into a world that glitzy on the surface and much darker underneath. Feral, page turning, and moments of exasperation all describe this book.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.
Chapter 1 begins with a story about a dog who loves its owner and lives a perfectly perfect life, but finds itself asking what if. What if it were better somewhere else? What if I were loved more? What if someone paid more attention to me? What if I were cared about more? Is life always so mundane and patterned? While this threw me off in the beginning, I quickly realized that this was a metaphor what was El was going through in her life. El no longer is happy with her path and being a loyal servant to someone. She wants more.
That being said, I honestly did not connect with this book like I had hoped that I would. It was a little all over the place for me. I was confused with the canine perspective for a good portion of the book. I probably should have read other review first, but I prefer to go in blind and decide for myself. A book where living on the fringe of the rich and wanting more than she has – will put of a lot of toxic vibes and that may be great for other readers. I expect this book to have a wide variety of reviews. It will have a love/hate relationship with readers.

Man's Best Friend was a quick entertaining read about the super rich in New York and those who want to be a part of that world. I was really looking forward to this one and wanted to like it more than I did. It started out promising and while I was for entertained and wanted to see how it ended I did not really connect to the main character at all. I also was a little confused about the dog story line that didn't seem to really go anywhere was hoping for a little more explanation on that. All in all was a decent read and would encourage others to try it. I want to thank NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

***Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of Man’s Best Friend .
And Thank you
***PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, for an an advanced digital ARC

I was excited for this book based on the title and was unfortunately disappointed.I found the way it was written to be very scattered and confusing. The main character El is very bland, and there is nothing about her, or her quid pro quo romance with Bryce that makes you want more of any of it . I feel the ideas were there, but the follow through and the character development was rushed and unfinished. I liked the descriptive writing used throughout allowing the reader to visualize the environmental factors surrounding the characters but needed more connection and interest in the characters themselves. I feel this writer has the absolute potential to make a really good novel , but needs to focus more on the direction of the story as well as deciding on which aspect of the story they are intending to be the most important in reference to the genre being more of a mystery, romance or just simple first person reflective journaling. With that said I look forward to future novels in hopes of getting this quality of writing along with a riveting story.

Thanks for this advance copy. I loved this book! I just read it in a day, so it's so good. If you are looking for a book to inmerse you as much as you forget about the outside world, this is it!